.....August 12 2009 - Last Night at the Molson Amphitheater in Toronto I went to see the Moody Blues put on a spectacular show . After four decades Justine Hayward alongside longtime members bassist John Lodge and drummer Graeme Edge continue performing their many classics and last nights crowd of nearly 10,000 certainly got their money's worth. This is another one of those bands I never got the privilege of seeing back in the 70's or 80's, few bands have the staying power or stamina these guys do especially after almost fourty years, nor do many command quite the loyal following as do the Moody Blues. As appreciative as the crowd was of this iconic group they are equally appreciative of their fans. Near the end of the evening Justine just took a moment to thank all who attended saying "we love you and thank you for keeping the faith". Needless to say the crowd went wild. Being primarily a fan of the New Wave/Alternative scene during the 80's I really didn't have allot of exposure to bands like this, I'm glad I do now. It's easy to forget in this day and age that there was a time in the music industry when talent was mattered most.
August 11 2008...Click on the pics to see full size image... .
...The KoolHaus (formerly the Warehouse, and RPM) is approximately 27,000 sq ft and located on the Lakeshore in the heart downtown Toronto many a great bands have played there over the years. I was there last night to see "Underworld" an English electronica / techno group that have been around since the 80's. To tell you the truth I'm actually more familiar with there earlier stuff when they recorded under there original moniker "Freur". I've heard Born "Slippy NUXX" many times before (who hasn't) but that said last night was predominantly an educational experience for me. I loved it, they put on a radical high energy show of sight and sound for a sold out crowd of approximately 2500, everyone was really into it.
....I took some pics but it was tough gettin anything worth posting, the room was filled with smoke from the start. I guess it's done on purpose to increase the mood/effect of the light show which seriously augments the music, like I said before it's was a combination of both sight and sound that made the experience so unique. The crowd seemed to moved in unison for much of the night, as if in a trace, hence their popularity with the Rave scene. I'm gonna be picking up some of their CD's shortly so I can get more familiar with the work thats for sure...CD's are those little round silvery things about four inches wide that you can still buy at HMV...
Underworld are...
.
Rick Smith - keyboards
Karl Hyde - vocals, guitars
Darren Price - keyboards, mixing and live assistant
....A bit perplexed by this one, without an argument Talk Talks most commercially successful single and a rare 12 inch. I acquired this recently and it's nothing like the one I owned twenty years ago which had only the one extended single with four different versions of the same song. This EP contains not only It's My life 12" Mix, but also 12" Mixes ofDumDum Girl, Such A Shame, Talk Talk, My Foolish Friend and Why So Hard, each of these songs is excellent on there own, it's almost like a mini greatest hits package (early stuff only), except they're all extended versions. The sleeve leads me to believe it was created for the North American market, with packaging designed in Italy and remixed in 1984 by Steve Thompson. This copy above belongs to me and was pressed right here in Canada in the bustling metropolis of Mississauga. A great set list and well worth picking up if you can find a copy in decent condition. Each and every track was eventually re-released on CD, after all Talk Talk aint exactly obscure or unknown. But the reason I pick these up has nothing to do with weather they've been re-released or remastered I don't much care about that. I pick them up because they are rare, and rarer still in perfect condition, also because I dig the photography and cover art which is so interesting.
....These are some really spectacular images and I thought I'd share them. What I wouldn't give to attend this festival just once, ahhh well perhaps one day it'll happen. Just have to add it to a long list of things I need to do before I die. The last week of June, approximately 190,000 people made their way to Worthy Farm in western England to attend the 2009 Glastonbury Festival. Attendees came to see performances at what is billed as "Europe's largest open-air music festival" on many stages over four days - headliners included Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and a reunited Blur. Rainy weather did little to dampen the mood, as attendees enjoyed themselves in tent cities, concert performances, dance tents, and the surrounding countryside of Somerset, England. Collected here are a handful of images from this year's festival...
It's Industrial, err... I mean New Wave, no it's Industrial, no it's..it's..it's Ministry. From my collection another piece of plastic that got heavy rotation during my time in the booth, one of Ministry's early singles and still my favorite. Far removed from the industrial metal sound they are known for today, Ministry originally started as a New Wave band with a distinctive electronic sound, although one might say they were teetering on the precipice of an Industrial revolution. Al Jourgensen has reportedly expressed disappointment with Ministry's music during these early years, not really sure why. I think it had something to do with creative control, a problem that I'm sure most artist encounter with their record company occasionally. Ahh well screw it, whatever the reason I know I speak for many when I say that "WE" the fans were not disappointed. This was their signature single "Everyday is Halloween" with "All Day" on the flip side was essential vinyl for any music collector and fan of this genre. Ministry released a total of 4 singles under the Wax Trax Records label, I believe this was the most successful but don't quote me on that, sometimes I don't know what the ___ I'm talkin about...
.....On Tuesday night I went to Lee's Palace in Toronto and saw the New York Dolls put on one helluva kick-ass show. They played an amazing, two hour set that had the crowed hoppin. Above are some of the shots I took during the evening. I was using a little Canon Powershot, not the most professional camera in the world, but they actuallyturned out OK.
..... The Dolls originally formed in 1971 so the line up that we saw play tonight has changed somewhat from the what it was originally. In 2004 the band reformed with three of their original members, two of whom, David Johansen and SylvainSylvain, continue on today and have released two new records. The original bassist, Arthur Kane died shortly after their first reunion concert. The new members are Steve Conte, SamiYaffa, Brian Delaney and Brian Koonin. The link to my entire photo album of shots from the show is below...
.....It's been five years since No Doubt recorded an album yet last night they rolled into Toronto and played to twenty thousand screaming fans at a sold out Air Canada Center. I know this because I was one of those fans, what a absolutely fantastic show not only was I there but for the first time in almost 20 years I had front row centers. The show lasted a blistering one hour and forty minutes in which Gwen Stefani and the boys blasted through hit after hit in a high energy fast paced show that had the crowd, myself included on their feet non stop. It's easy to see why they still command such a loyal following, the moment Gwen appeared the crowd was transfixed, a performer like no other she has a stage presence, charisma and stamina that few in the music industry can match, add to that...
.
Set List
.
Hella Good Underneath It All Excuse Me Mister Ex-Girlfriend Happy Now/End It On This Simple Kind of Life Bathwater Guns of Navarone New Hey Baby Running Different People Don't Speak It's My Life Just A Girl Encore: Rock Steady Stand and Deliver Sunday Morning
....I picked YES up last week, I wanted to listen to it at least ten times before writing anything and that's exactly what I did. Truth be told I probably could have written a review before even listening to the album. When it comes to the Pet Shop Boys I pretty much know what to expect, perfection, absolute perfection. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have crafted another masterpiece, right from the lead off single "Love Inc." the album grabs you and pulls you in. Each song carefully crafted, layer upon layer of synthesizers intertwined with a that heavy redundant trance like beat we're all accustomed to, add to that some selected guitar riffs by ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and you get a sound experience like no other. That albums has already caught on huge in Europe, the Pet Shop Boys music is after all tailor made for the UK underground.
....It's hard to pick the strongest tracks, because as a rule they don't don't normally include any fill on their albums, it usually a two to three year gap between releases. Besides "Love Inc" their are a number of other track that could easily be issued as singles. "All Over the World" should be the second release a catchy trance like droning dance track that's already being played in the clubs. "More Than a Dream" an upbeat dance track with combining a new wave syth-pop sound with a slight disco beat, it also has one of the best hooks on the album, "Building a Wall" my personal favorite, it has that older 80's style feel to it, a real throw back to the original Pet Shop Boys sound, and "King Of Rome" every album contain at least one ballad, and YES is no exception, a beautiful heart felt song that balances guitar and keyboards with meaningful lyrics and an hypnotic beat.
.
The Track List is as Follows...
.
1....Love Inc
2....All Over the World
3....Beautiful People
4....Did You See Me Coming?
5....Vulnerable
6....More Than a Dream
7....Building a Wall
8....King of Rome
9....Pandemonium
10..The Way It Used to Be
11..Legacy
.
At the time of writing this review, the album is currently sitting at number 3 on the European Top 100 Albums, #4 on the UK Albums Chart, #3 on the German Album Chart and occupies chart position in 16 other countries around the world, not bad for two guys approaching their fifties.
.
Supplementary July 24 2009
"Love etc." has moved up to 1 from number 2 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart in the USA. This is Pet Shop Boys' ninth Billboard Dance number one hit, the first being "West End girls" in 1986. According to Billboard.biz: "...Pet Shop Boys set the record for the most No. 1s in the history of the Hot Dance Club Songs chart among duos or groups this week as "Love Etc." becomes the ninth Pet Shop Boys song to hit the top slot."
Suplementary Feb 18, 2010 The album contunues to expolde all over the world, here's a clip from CNN Feb 18. 2010 .
.....Back in the 1980's and to a lesser extent the early 90's their was a venue in Toronto that played host to some of the greatest bands that I have ever seen. It was called The Concert Hall and it was located on Young Street in the heart of Toronto. Although most would be hard pressed to remember it today back in the mid 80's everyone who was anyone played there. It wasn't a big place, it only housed about 1500 if memory serves me, yet most bands seemed to end up performing their at one time or another. To name just a few U2, Simple Minds, The Sex Pistols, The Spoons, Love & Rockets, Billy Bragg, Public Image Ltd, etc...you get the picture. Anyway A Flock Of Seagulls were in town playing the Concert Hall and it so happens I was in attendance, normally I don't pay too much attendance on the opening act, but on this night it was different. The opening band on this night was the Comateens, an upbeat New Wave group from New York City with an infectious energetic sound
....A pretty loyal following in the Northern States and especially New York were they' play clubs like Max's Trax, Heat, The Blitz, and of course CBGBs, they alsohas success across the pond in Europe touring France and Belgium on more than one occasion. The did one Canadian tour as well in 1984. The Comateens originally formed in 1978 as duo, Nick North and Romona Lee Jan met in a New York recording studio and began to write songs together. In December of the same year Lyn Byrd joins to do vocals and they become a three peice. The first songs ever pressed to vinyle by the Commateens was on a New Your Based compilation album called 2x5, as the name suggests it was a compilation of 5 bands each contributing two song. The Comateen contributed "Late Night City" and "Overseas". With regards to their catalog it can get a bit confusing, there were two studio albums, "Comateen" (self titled) and "Pictures on a String", there were also various 45's and videos releases more info can be obtained at their web site below.
The Comateens are as follows...
Band members changed over the years and there was also the tragic death of Oliver North and Nic North, so the musician below were involved with the band at various stages between 1978 and the present.
LYN BYRD - Vocal, Keyboard
RAMONA JAN: Vocals, guitar
NIC NORTH: Vocals, bass, keyboards, percussion
OLIVER NORTH: Vocals, guitars
ROLLY: Percussion
JEFF ZILM: Drums
NIC O. TEEN: Vocals, bass
HARRY VIDERCI: Drums
'
Comateens website, were alot of info can be found, plus some Downloads...
...One of the most fascinating things about the 80's was the hundreds of tiny independent record labels that waged war against the corporate machine that controlled a stagnating music industry at the time. Hundreds perhaps even thousands of small and medium sized bands from all over the world took part in this backlash, assaulting the airwaves, the charts, and most importantly the club scene. Independent college and University Radio stations along with non-commercial radio like CFNY ( back when they were still good ) help make us aware of the existance of these bands. It became a weekend passtime to head downtown to small record shops in search of hard to find albums and 12'inch singles, both domestic and imported.
.....One of the smaller, but very talented groups involved was Vis-A-Vis a Canadian New Wave band that gained a relatively loyal following during the mid 80's. The album shown above belongs to me and it's in almost perfect condition, an incredibly rare find. My original copy purchase back in 86 received regular rotation at the bar I used to DJ, sadly that copy has long since disappeared. This copy I found about a year ago at a flee market and I was to say the least absolutely thrilled. Heart and Soul is a mini album, it only has four tracks, five tracks if you include both versions of "I am the night". They have a distinctively new wave sound, with multiple keyboard layers but also featuring a prominent bass line intertwined with strong guitar riffs throughout, Rude Van Steenes provides some great vocals to round out the project. I would describe it as a cross between INXS an Simple Minds, yet it still retains an original sound. An excellent piece of work by a band that's gone but not forgotten.
'
Track List
.
I am the night
Prison of eyes
Where angels tread
Dance with me
I am the night (version)
.
Vis A Vis are...
.
Ed Galati (drums)
Gene Donofrio (bass)
Rude Van Steenes (vocals)
Kurt La Porte (guitar, backing vocals)
Norm Brown (keyboards)
.
additional musicians...
.
D'arcy Pickering - drums track 1,2,4
Scott Humphrey - PPG programs trk 3
.
Heart and Soul
.
Produced by Garth Richardson, assisted by William Robertson
Recorded and Mixed at 'Phase One Studios' Toronto in the fall of 1985
Glamatron Publishing / CAPAC / Vis:A:Vis
.
Vis:A:Vis also thanks the Spoons and their crew for support on this project.
